Hearts
by tarachamblerlover
Summary: Tara never wants to love again, but out of her control falls in love.
1. Traffic

**Hearts **

Chapter 1: Traffic

"Come on! Get goin'!" yelled Tara as she honked her horn at the slow moving cars at the intersection. The date was June 27, 2009. Tara was on her way to the police academy where she had been training to become a police officer for nearly 3 months. Tara had vowed to herself to become an officer because of her father's courage serving in the Vietnam war. Her father, David became of a food truck driver about 10 years after the war ended. He retired just about a year ago because he was diagnosed with lung cancer. So, he moved in with Tara's sister, Lily, and her niece, Meghan.

Tara arrived at the academy about 25 minutes later, on time as usual. Tara always planned ahead, and was anticipating the traffic. Tara was always doing her best at the academy, but lately her chief had been noticing that Tara was slacking. What he didn't know was that Tara had found someone. A few nights ago she had found what she believed to be "the one." Her name was Sam, about 6 foot tall, long black hair and beautiful blue eyes. They hit it off really well, and later that night went back to Sam's place. This was the first time in years that Tara finally felt loved by someone. Tara was in love.

Tara's chief didn't know, nor did he care. He screamed at Tara for not being completely in the game. Tara didn't seem to mind though. Everything in her life was fine, because she had Sam. After a few months of dating, Tara and Sam went on a peaceful, discrete camping trip. Tara was super excited for this trip, she loved spending every second that she could with Sam. The first night of the camping trip was fantastic. They went fishing, swimming, and ate some s'mores. It was about 2 in the morning, complete darkness except for fire that was slowly dying out. Tara laid on her side right behind Sam, who was also on her side. Tara had her arms around Sam, embracing her. Tara scooted back a little, and looked at Sam's bare back.

Tara couldn't help but smile at how happy she was to have Sam in her life. Tara started tracing hearts with her right index finger on sleeping Sam's back. Goosebumps grew all over her upper back because of Tara's soft, gentle touch. Sam awoke, and rolled over. They made eye contact and both smiled. Sam leaned in a kissed Tara passionately. When she pulled away Tara saw that Sam was crying.

"I'm so sorry, Tara." Sam managed to get out as she started to sob.

"W-wha? Why? For what?" Tara asked confused. Tara put her arm out and wiped away the tears from Sam's face. Tara was having a great time with the love of her life. She couldn't imagine what she was sorry for.

"I have a boyfriend..." Sam said with so much regret. "I really like you, Tara, but when we first hooked up, I didn't think this would happen." Tara instantly began to cry as she heard these words come out of her love's mouth.

"I was just mad at my boyfriend, I went out, and I noticed you at the bar. You looked really nice, and to be honest, I didn't think me and my boyfriend were gunna be able to keep going..." Sam continued.

"No, please Sam. Just stop talking." Tara said as she rolled over and sobbed.

"I'm sorry..." Sam said.

Sam woke up the next day to an empty tent. Tara had left just shortly after the sun rose. Sam cupped her eyes and cried.

**|| A/N: **Just sayin', this first chapter was meant to be a little short. It is a flashback, and starting next chapter it will be in the present. I apologize for my amateur writing skills. Thanks for reading c:


	2. Unknown People

Chapter 2: Unknown people

Now the date was April 9, 2014. So much has happened to Tara. After the whole Sam thing, Tara decided to never love again. And besides relationships, Tara had more to worry about. The apocalypse had begun.

"Hi" said the strange, tall man at Tara's apartment door. The man was about six foot three, longer hair and a massive beard. Someone who had clearly been on the road a while.

"Drop your weapons." said Lily, Tara's older sister through a crack in the door.

Tara wanted nothing but to protect what she had left of her family. Her father, sister, and niece were her life. So, Tara quickly and violently opened the door, and pointed a loaded pistol at the unidentified man.

The man willingly set his weapons and rucksack down. Lily invited him in, where her and Tara decided to question him to learn a little bit more about him.

"Do you plan on staying in the apartments? asked Lily

"..." No response from the unknown man.

"Do you plan on staying or not?" Lily said much louder than before.

Again, no response.

"Holy shit with the no talking." said Tara clearly more upset than Lily. Tara's sister attempted to scold her for swearing around Megan, but Tara continued talking.

"My sister asked you a question."

"Just for the night..." The man said almost inaudible.

"You see this? Tara asked as she slid her loaded pistol across the table towards him. "This is a fully loaded standard issue Smith & Wesson... I'm Atlanta City Police, and I have enough artillery in here to kill you everyday for the next ten years."

Their unexpected visitor just sat there, letting all of Tara and Lily's words sink in. Tara knew she was being a little rude, but she didn't trust anyone, and wanted to ensure her family's safety. It was clear that the unknown man understood Tara and Lily's rules.

"I swear to Christ, if you touch me or my family, I will put you down." Tara said just to make sure the man was sure of her loyalty to her family. "Got it?"

"Got it..." said the man.

"Then we're cool." said Tara, "Pound it." She put up her fist waiting for a fist bump in return. The man gave Tara a little bump with his fist and lowered his hand.

"You got a name?" asked Tara just before Lily was about to show him his room.

"Brian... Brian Heriot."

After that, Tara went to her bedroom. She decided to read her favorite book, which was _To Kill a Mockingbird_. She had probably read it 15 times just since the outbreak, but it was the only book she had that she enjoyed. Everyone had gone to sleep, so it was very quiet in the apartment. Of course, every night they were used to falling asleep to the sound of the undead growling and gurgling. So that was the only sound Tara heard.

Tara looked her watch. It was 11:30 PM, which very well could have been wrong, but it was the only time she knew. She heard some yelling out her window, which was also common. She reached over and grabbed her pistol just in case they decided to cause trouble. Judging from the voices, Tara guessed there was about seven people in the group.

She could hear the sounds of blades sinking into those monster's head. This intrigued her. Tara got out of bed and walked to her window. She saw a man in a sheriff's outfit with a beard, a beautiful tall woman with shorter dark hair, a teen in a sheriff's hat (possibly the the bearded man's son?), an African American woman with a katana, and more people too far away to distinguish details. Tara could see some of those things creeping up silently behind them.

Tara decided that the group could be trusted. She saw one the walkers lunge at a man in the back. He was wearing a hoodie and a baseball cap.

"Look out behind you!" yell Tara from her window involuntarily.

They all looked up at Tara's window and saw her pointing to the back of the group. They all turned around at the sound of a shout.

"Glenn!" yelled the one woman Tara saw earlier with the shorter dark hair, and the tall boots with pink laces.

Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Four shots were fired by various members of the group towards the small herd of walkers surrounding the man in the back, who Tara assumed was Glenn. The man in the back had clearly been bit, but wasn't dead. The walkers attacking him were killed and he got up and ran. But those shots attracted walkers from all throughout the town. They were being closed in.

"Hey! Run to the door down here! I'll let you in!" yelled Tara from her window. The group sprinted towards the apartment doors, and Tara rushed downstairs to let them in.


	3. Maggie

Chapter Three:

Tara managed to make it to the apartment doors just as the group had reach the doors. She held it open as they ran in just escaping the walkers stumbling towards them.

"Please, help us," a blonde girl pleaded from the group.

"I'm going to help you guys, don't worry. Do you have any weapons?"

All of them emptied their bags, pockets, holsters, and whatever else they had without hesitation, clearly not posing any threats. Tara led them up to her apartment. They all found a piece of furniture to sit on. Tara talked to all of them to try to know them. Around in a circle they said their names. The man in the sheriff's outfit went first, seeming like the leader to Tara.

"I'm Rick, this is my son, Carl." He put his arm around the teen in the sheriff's hat.

"Hey." said Tara as she waved and smiled.

"I'm Beth," said the blonde woman who looked about 20.

"I'm Michonne," said the woman with the katana and dread locks.

"I'm Abraham," said the tall, buff man with the red mustache. "and this is my girlfriend Rosita and my good friend Eugene. He's a scientist." Rosita and Eugene both waved at the sound of their names, and Tara waved back.

"I'm.. Glenn.." the man laying on the couch said lightly and barely audible. Glenn had been bit on the shoulder and was slowly growing more weak. The woman laying on the ground by Glenn crying said, "And I'm Maggie."

Maggie sniffled. Tara looked Maggie in her beautiful green eyes for a good thirty seconds. Tara liked Maggie instantly.

"I.. I'm sorry about Glenn. Is he your boyfriend?" asked Tara.

"He's my fiancé..." Maggie replied. Glenn had already began sweating, and coughing. He was going to turn very soon. And everyone knew.

"I..I love you, Maggie. And I just wanna say thank you to everyone for what you've done for me..." Glenn said to everyone around the room. Tara couldn't help but shed a tear or two when everyone else began to cry. Maggie wrapped her arms around Glenn for the last time. Glenn's eyes closed. He was gone. Maggie reached for her switchblade located on the side of her boot. She pulled it out and flipped the blade out. She sobbed and slowly jabbed the knife into her love's temple preventing him from turning.

Tara felt so bad for Maggie, just as everyone else did. Tara walked over to Maggie and hugged her. "Hey, you can sleep in my bed tonight, Maggie. I'll sleep on the couch." Maggie nodded in agreement.

Rick and Brian decided to remove Glenn's lifeless body from the apartment. While they were gone, and the others were mourning, Tara showed Maggie the room she'd be sleeping in.

"Thank you, for... ya know... bringing us in." said Maggie shakily.

"Yeah, no problem. I just wanna say again, I'm really sorry. If there's anything I ca-" Tara was cut off by Maggie hugging her. Tara was very surprised by this.

"What's your name?" Maggie asked Tara, her voice muffled because her head was buried in the crook of Tara's neck.

Tara let out a giggle, finding it funny how she forgot to mention her name to anyone. "I'm Tara. Tara Chambler."

"Thank you Tara."

"You're welcome, Maggie. I'm gunna let you try to rest up." Tara didn't want the hug to end. She was beginning to like Maggie even more, more than she wanted to.

Tara tiptoed out to the living room, where everyone was sleeping. She found an open space on the floor and laid down. She was finding it hard to fall asleep having so many people in her house. Eugene was snoring so loudly, Tara couldn't hear herself think, let alone sleep. She looked at her watch. It now said 3:30 AM. She decided to read her book, but she had left it in her bedroom, where Maggie was sleeping.

After laying there for another hour or so, she quietly got up, and silently walked to her room to get her book. The door creaked when she pushed on it. When she entered the room, she shut the door behind her. She looked at Maggie laying there, who even in her state of sadness, looked stunning. She had to stop herself from staring, and walked over to her night stand and grabbed her book. As she was walking away, she heard Maggie trying to speak.

"Tara?" she asked quietly. Tara silently said "shit" to herself as she realized she woke Maggie up. "I can't sleep, Tara." Tara was relieved to know she didn't wake her up. But she didn't know what to say back, so she stood there in silence. "Would you lay down with me?"

Tara was really confused by Maggie. She had just lost her soon to be husband, and now it almost seemed like she was flirting with Tara. But of course, Tara couldn't say no. She crawled into bed behind Maggie. Tara almost out of just instinct put her arm around her, but before she could, Maggie rolled over.

A/N||: Just wanna say thanks to everyone who has followed the story, sorry I haven't updated it in a while, but I plan on updated more frequently now. Next few chapters should be getting spicier. Please don't hesitate to drop a review


	4. Closer

Chapter 4: Closer

Maggie looked Tara in the eyes. Her eyes going left to right trying to decide which eye to focus on.

"I can't even begin to explain how sad I feel Tara." said Maggie. "I've never had this feeling before, I see no point in living a life without Glenn."

"I know how you feel Maggie," said Tara who was holding back tears as she thought of Sam. "I've lost loved ones..."

Maggie continued to stare Tara in the eyes, thinking to herself.

"Tell me about it... I can't sleep" said Maggie.

"Well... I don't really like talking about it, but i guess... for you." Tara managed to give Maggie a half smile. "Alright well my gi- er... partner was Sam. We we're in love, madly. Or at least I know I was. We dated for about 6 months, I really wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Anyw-"

Tara was cut off by Maggie.

"Wait... 'her'? Are you a lesbian, Tara?" Maggie asked curiously.

"Yeah, I like girls, so yes..." Tara wasn't very confident about her sexuality, but felt more comfortable now that Maggie knew.

"Oh... that's really cool. Continue... please."

"Okay so anyway, me and Sam went on a camping trip... and she told me she was in a relationship... with a guy... and was cheated on HIM with me. I was so devastated. I don't think I'll ever be able to love anyone ever again..." said Tara who was still holding back tears.

"Wow... I'm sorry Tara." Said Maggie. Maggie scooted a little closer to Tara. Tara was started to feel the sexual tension, but Tara didn't understand how Maggie could be doing this just hours after Glenn passed.

"I like you Tara... We have a lot in common. I think we're gunna be good friends." Maggie rolled over facing away from Tara now. Tara wasn't sure if Maggie had felt the sexual tension, but she knew that she felt it. She was starting to fall in love.

Tara stared into the darkness of the room wondering if she should stay in the bed with Maggie or not. She decided not to, and stood up. Tara opened the door, but before she left Maggie tugged on her shoulder. Somehow Maggie had silently gotten up and had snuck up on Tara. Tara jumped a little when she felt Maggie's hand.

"Can you lay down with me?" asked Maggie. Tara was started to think Maggie liked her back, the same way Tara was liking her.

"Yea... Sure" Tara said smiling ear to ear, but barely noticeable because of the dark. Maggie hugged Tara.

"Thank you, Tara."

They could see each other eyes from the reflection of the moonlight in them. They looked each other in the eyes for a good minute while continuing to hug. Their faces were only inches apart. Maggie leaned in an kissed Tara on the cheek lightly. Tara blushed and goosebumps grew all over her neck. Tara wasn't sure how to respond to this. She just stood there in silence as Maggie's lips stayed just centimeters away from where she had kissed her. She could feel her breath on her face.

Maggie kissed Tara again and again, each kiss moving closer to her lips. Tara was starting to get turned on, but didn't want to be some experiment for Maggie. Just as Maggie was about to kiss Tara's lips, Tara stopped her.

"I really, REALLY like you, Maggie..." said Tara "but I don't wanna be your one night stand for comfort or an experiment. This has to mean something. I need to know you really like me."

Maggie just looked Tara in the eyes.

"Okay... I understand. Can you still sleep with me?"

"Yeah, alright" said Tara.

Tara crawled into bed right after Maggie. They both crawled under the covers, this time both of them facing the right. Tara decided to wrap her arms around Maggie. Tara couldn't Maggie's face, but she was smiling, and so was Tara.

A|N:\\ Thanks for reading! :) Please leave your feedback! And make sure to favorite the story for more!


	5. Dad

Chapter 5: Dad

A few hours later, Tara woke up. She checked her watch. It was 7:45 AM. She checked her surroundings. Maggie was still sleeping and could still hear snoring from the living room. She got out of bed slowly and walked out to the living room. Everyone from Maggie's group was still out cold. Tara figured they'd been on the road a while. Tara wasn't sure where Lily was, so she walked across the hall to where Brian had been. She peaked into his bedroom where she found Lily. Lily was laying in his bed with her arms around him.

Tara chuckled silently. "Hah, who woulda known?" Tara said to herself.

Tara went back to her room and checked on Meghan and her dad. Meghan was sleeping on the floor next to her grandpa. This was usually the time that her dad woke up to take his pills, but he wasn't moving at all. Tara scrambled over to the bed and put her hands on his shoulders and shook him a little bit.

"Dad...Dad wake up." Tara whispered trying not to wake anyone up. No response from her father.

"Hey Dad, you need to get up!" Tara whispered louder this time. Still no response. Tara started to worry. A few tears rolled down her cheeks as she realized what had happened.

Tara slowly walked out of the room crying. Everyone had pretty much woken up and watched Tara walk out with her hands cupped over her eyes.

"What's the matter? What happened?" asked Rick as he walked up to Tara.

"It's...it's my dad... I think he's dead... He has lung cancer, and we knew it was gunna happen... but I think it finally happened..."

"I'll go check on him... You stay here."

Rick walked into the bedroom. Shortly after, Meghan came out of the room crying, and hugged Tara. Brian and Lily came into her apartment too after hearing all the talking. She noticed Tara and Meghan crying.

"What's going on? What happened?" asked Lily.

"It's dad, I think he's dead..." said Tara.

Lily ran into his bedroom, where she saw Rick who had just stabbed her father in the temple with his knife.

"I'm sorry... he was gone... he was gunna turn..." said Rick.

Lily fell to her knees and cried. Rick walked out and asked Brian to help him bring the body out. When Tara saw Rick and Brian carrying her dad's lifeless body out of the house, she cried harder than she already was. She, Lily, and Meghan walked to the couch and sat down together. They just hugged and cried for a while.

Maggie walked out into the living room and saw them crying. She quickly walked over to Tara and knelt down.

"What did I miss? Is everyone OK?" asked Maggie.

"My dad passed away last night. I guess it's a good thing I found him before he turned and killed all of us." said Tara.

"Oh my God, Tara. I'm so sorry..." Maggie reached up and hugged Tara. All Tara could think about was last night. It took all of her strength to turn down Maggie last night. Tara wanted nothing more but to touch Maggie.

Tara couldn't resist. She couldn't fight her urges. As much as she wanted what she did to mean something, she wanted the comfort. Tara knew she was being a hypocrite, but she couldn't stop her actions.

Tara put her arms around Maggie for a little bit. Then she grabbed her hand. Tara whispered in Maggie's ear.

"I wanna show you something."

She tugged on Maggie's hand and got up. They walked back to Tara's bedroom.

Tara pushed Maggie up against the wall in her room and started kissing Maggie. Maggie put her hands on Tara's cheeks and tugged on her hair. Maggie was kissing back, and clearly didn't want it to stop, but she felt obligated not to do it. She stopped and pushed Tara back a little.

"What?" asked Tara.

"I don't know if I can do this. I still love Glenn, and I thought you didn't wanna do it unless it meant somethin'. Are you just doing this to take your mind off your dad?"

Tara sighed.

"I guess you're right. But I think I'm falling in love with you Maggie.

Maggie wasn't quiet sure how to respond. She knew she likes Tara, but she wasn't sure if it was love. Maggie never had feelings for a girl, and always assumed she was straight.

Maggie looked Tara in the eyes and let Tara's words sink in. After about 20 seconds of intimate eye contact, Maggie leaned in and kissed Tara.

"I'm not sure yet," said Maggie, "but I think I'm falling in love with you too."

Tara grinned from ear to ear, blushing from the conversation.

"I'm happy we found each other, Maggie." said Tara.

A\N:|| Thank you to everyone that has followed and favorited! It means A LOT! :) Please don't hesitate to drop a review, it really helps me out! More to come, and I thank everyone you has stayed and who stays! 3


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